Chronic, non-communicable diseases such as asthma, heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes, are by far the leading cause of mortality in the world impacting men, women, and children, and represent 60% of all deaths, with most deaths occurring in low and middle income countries.

Goals:

·Understand the reasons for the epidemiologic transition to chronic diseases as the largest cause of disease and disability in LMIC.

· Describe approaches to address the growing burden of chronic disease ranging from health policy and health systems strengthening to community mobilization.

· Identify opportunities for housestaff and fellow to address global chronic disease during their training and careers.

Working with the CDC, the Haitian government and other partners since 1993, Thomas Streit is dedicated to eradicating a Neglected Tropical Disease from Haiti by 2020.

A Roman Catholic priest and faculty member at the University of Notre Dame, since 1993 Streit has been working in Haiti, studying the transmission of the parasite Wuchereria bancrofti the disease it causes—lymphatic filariasis, or “LF,” the cause of elephantiasis and a leading cause of disability worldwide.

Following the World Health Assembly’s placement of LF on a short list of diseases slated for elimination, in 1999 the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awarded its first LF grant to Streit to help a collaborative group including the Haitian government, Holy Cross Hospital, and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention build capacity for, and study the efficacy of, various elimination strategies for LF in Haiti.

The steps involved in eliminating LF as a public health problem are varied and multidisciplinary; efforts have focused on the development of an infrastructure and the technical capacity to finish the work before 2020. The opportunity to accomplish this historic achievement has led Streit to service as a Research! America Paul Rodgers Ambassador for Global Health in the US, and varied work with partners on the ground in Haiti.

Streit is working to help see that recent concern for Haiti arising out of the tragic devastation of the January 2010 earthquake will provide opportunities for the people of the impoverished country to build a radically better health infrastructure, and consequently bring a better quality of life and socioeconomic development.

While the LF program in Haiti targets only one infection for extinction, examples from the LF program illustrate that in a stressed setting like Haiti, targeted initiatives such as the one against LF can spin off everything from microlending and microenterprise initiatives, to lifelong changes in the health and intellectual capacity of children.

We would like to invite residents, fellows and faculty from UW departments to join us for a Global Health lecture series.

Global Health lecture series on Essentials to Clinical Care and Capacity Building

The GH571 Course: Essentials to Clinical Care and Capacity Building is hosting a series of interdisciplinary panels with local and international guest lecturers to highlight the realities of providing effective healthcare and training in a variety of global low-income settings.

Course instructors: Joe Zunt, Suzinne Pak-Gorstein

Maternal and Neonatal Health: Global Perspectives and Work from Uganda

You are in a remote location in a resource limited clinical setting near the equator – and a 14 year old pregnant mother in her third trimester comes to the clinic where you are working to ask for medicines to help with her fever and lower abdominal/pelvic pain that has been going on for the last 2 weeks.

What serious illnesses is she at risk for? What are the low-cost resources that might be available for her? Are there any clinical guidelines to help her care? How can illnesses be managed and prevented in the community? What are the risks for these women’s future children?

A wonderful, intensive GH educational opportunity:

GLOBAL HEALTH COURSE – University of Minnesota

Clinical Tropical, Migrant & Travel Medicine

This 8-week intensive training course is intended for physicians and other health care providers working in tropical medicine, travelers’ health and migrant health. The Global Health Course is offered in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as other local, national, and international partners. Guest faculty from UMN-affiliated international sites contribute to the course, as well as many nationally-known faculty and non-governmental organization in Minnesota such as the Center for Victims of Torture, Minnesota International Health Volunteers, and the American Refugee Committee.

This certificate preparation course is accredited by the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) and prepares participants to qualify for the biannually-offered exam that leads to a Certificate of Knowledge in Clinical Tropical Medicine and Travelers’ Health.

Eight one-week modules starting July 6, 2010 and running through August 27, 2010